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Remix Sessions and Producer Packs bring sounds from Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Boys Noize and more
>The past decade has seen Apple gradually repositioning GarageBand to appeal to electronic producers as much as entry-level home recordists. Now the latest update for iOS and iPad sees the user-friendly DAW leaning further into the realm of electronic pop with the addition of
Remix Sessions and Producer Packs.
The Producer Packs are probably the more interesting of the two features for experienced music makers. These are sound packs complete with loops, one-shots, synth presets and drum kits. What elevates them, however, are the names behind each pack. Bundles have been compiled by the likes of Boys Noize, Oak Felder (producer for Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and John Legend) and duo Take A
Daytrip (David Biral and Denzel Baptiste, producers for Lil Nas X, Kid Cudi and Travis Scott).
The packs have been designed and curated to act like easy-to-use construction kits for producers at any level. Of his pack, Oak Felder says, “I’ve curated it so that a brand new producer could pull any pattern, play any number of combinations, and, since the sonics are curated to sound so modern and future-leaning, it gives them an opportunity to be competitive. You wanna put down a trap beat, it’s literally gonna take you ten seconds.”
There’s a Producer Pack from Mark Ronson too, which comes accompanied by a new Apple TV documentary series titled Watch the Sound With Mark Ronson.
Crucially, all sounds in the Producer Packs are royalty-free, meaning users can incorporate them into their own releases or make use of them away from the context of the GarageBand app.
Remix it
Remix Sessions, as the name implies, are projects designed to let GarageBand users edit and rearrange well-known songs. Downloadable sets include stems for Dua Lipa’s Break My Heart and Lady Gaga’s Free Woman. Before you get too excited, it’s worth noting that these projects remain constrained by copyright, and the sounds are largely walled-off within GarageBand, so don’t expect access to acapellas ready for you to export and throw into your next club track. These Remix Sessions seem most appealing as learning tools. Each project comes accompanied by videos, including ‘inspirational’ clips from the artists discussing the original songs, along with guides from an ‘Apple Retail Creative Pro’ aimed at walking you through the process of putting your own stamp on each track. If nothing else, they should provide an interesting insight into the make-up of these top-level pop tracks. All the Remix Sessions and new Producer Packs are available right now as a free download from the Sound Library in GarageBand 2.3.11, the latest version of the app, for iOS and iPadOS.